text: Wood, bone, stone, and earth are some of the materials, which formed the structures of the Roman Empire. Certain structures were made possible by the character of the land upon which these structures are built. Romans mixed powdered limestone, volcanic ash found from Mount Vesuvius, and water to make a cement paste. A volcanic peninsula with stone aggregates and conglomerates containing crystalline material will produce material, which weathers differently from soft, sedimentary rock and silt. With the discovery of cement paste, structures could be built with irregular shaped stones and have the binder fill the voids to create a solid structure. The cement gains strength as it hydrates, thus creating a stronger bond over time. With the fall of the west Roman Empire and the rise of the Byzans, this knowledge was mostly lost except to the catholic monks, who were among the few who could read Vitruvius’ Latin and make use of the concrete paste. That is one of the reasons that the concrete Pantheon of Rome could last for 1,850 years, and why the thatched farmhouses of Holland sketched by Rembrandt have long since decayed.
  The use of asbestos as a material blossomed in Ancient Greece, especially when the fireproofing qualities of the material came to light. Many scholars believe the word asbestos comes from a Greek term, sasbestos, meaning inextinguishable or unquenchable.  Clothes for nobles, table clothes and other oven adornments were all furnished with a weave of the fibrous materials, as the materials could be cleansed by throwing them directly into fire. The use of this material however was not without its downsides, Pliny the Elder, noted a link between the quick death of slaves to work in the asbestos mine. He recommended that slaves working in this environment use the a bladder skin as a makeshift respirator.
  After the thighbone daggers of the early hunter-gatherers were superseded by wood and stone axes, and then by copper, bronze and iron implements of the Roman civilization, more precious materials could then be sought, and gathered together. Thus the medieval goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini could seek and defend the gold which he had to turn into objects of desire for dukes and popes. The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini contains one of the first descriptions of a metallurgical process.
  The use of cork, which has been recently added to the category of materials science, had its first mentions beginning with Horace, Pliny, and Plutarch. It had many uses in antiquity including in fishing and safety devices because of its buoyancy, an engraving medium, sandal soles to increase stature, container stoppers, and being an insulator. It was also used to help cure baldness in the second century.
  In the Ancient Roman Era, glassblowing became an art involving the additions of decor and tints. They were also able to created complex shapes due to the use of a mold. This technology allowed them to imitate gemstones. Window glass was formed by casting into flat clay molds then removed and cleaned. The texture in stained glass comes from the texture the sand mold left on the side in contact with the mold.
  Polymeric composites also made an appearance during this time frame in the form of wood. By 80 BC, petrified resin and keratin were used in accessories as amber and tortoise shell respectively.
  In Alexandria in the first century BC, glass blowing was developed in part due to new furnaces that could create higher temperatures by using a clay coated reed pipe. Plant ash and natron glass, the latter being the primary component, were used in blown pieces. Coastal and semi desert plants worked best due to their low magnesium oxide and potassium oxide content. The Levant, North Africa, and Italy were where blown glass vessels were most common.